


Stories Cycling Through

by Jen425



Category: Power Ranger In Space, Power Rangers, Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Tokusatsu
Genre: Alternative Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23186149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen425/pseuds/Jen425
Summary: Here’s the official story…
Relationships: Astronema | Karone & Brody Romero
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24
Collections: Space Swap 2020





	Stories Cycling Through

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rivulet027](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/gifts).



> Thanks for this!!! I love both of these two and having a chance to write them together? YES!!!

Brody Romero is almost fifteen Earth years old, by the tally in his cell, when he’s free from Galvanax just a little bit early.

But less changes than you think.

  
  
  


Here’s the official story: by this point, it’s no longer in doubt that Astronema separates herself from her weakness. She never made another bid for intergalactic Power, but she and her team of revived Psychos were skilled, dangerous, deadly.

(Nevermind that the only enemies not left with a warning were evil themselves.)

If you asked for her help and she accepted, your victory would be assured (nevermind that it also never continued for more than two years after).

So of course Champion Galvanax and Cosmo both happily agreed to Psycho Black’s request to participate in the competition.

And of course no one questioned why his superior would join him for the fight, or that they specified a specific contestor.

(No one needs to know that this is all but a public assassination.)

No, no one would dare.

Not even when Astronema walked through the ship and found a young human in prison garb covered in just a bit of human-Red blood and requested him as part of Black’s payment, after his of-course-successful match.

(But no one else saw the steel in the human’s eyes. The pain and the determination and the good, despite his surroundings. The familiar-yet-different reaction to dark circumstances.

No one except Karone.)

And so Brody Romero made his way into the care of Karone.

And no one was the wiser.

  
  
  


Brody considers trying to fight or run away or just otherwise convince Astronema not to take him. As terrible as this is, as much as training himself with battles he has to lose, even if he could have a chance, is painful and terrible, it’s still with  _ purpose. _

To get himself and his friends and most of all the Ninja Nexus Prism far,  _ far _ away from Galvanax.

But Astronema has eyes like… well, like something off-familiar and almost safe. And, when she says “come, you belong to me now…”

He follows.

He follows her to her ship and then away, and Astronema doesn’t drop her disguise until they’re several systems away, replaced by a woman in less black leather, hair slowly fading from a hot curly, hot pink wig to a pulsing dark purple to a soft and straight blonde, body visibly loosening, while Psycho Black’s armor fades away to reveal someone who looks fairly human.

“All in all, a success,” Astronema says. “Hopefully this’ll keep the Shadowers from trying to expand again.”

Psycho Black merely scoffs.

“Ametures,” he says. “I can’t wait to get home.”

“But first we have another issue to take care of,” Astronema says.

Just for the record, it is very,  _ very _ terrifying to have two of the most dangerous beings in the universe, two who now legally own you, staring at you.

Brody stares right back.

  
  
  


He flinches, ever so slightly, but keeps an impressive stare. Enough to say that he won’t back done but also enough to say that he’ll listen.

It’s impressive. Everything Karone has seen from this child has been impressive.

Not that she wouldn’t have taken him away, anyways, but it certainly helped her notice him a bit more.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I haven’t introduced myself properly. I’m Karone, and this is Photon. You know what most people call us.”

The teen gets extra points for not backing down.

“Astronema separated herself from Karone,” he says. “Didn’t she?”

Karone merely laughs.

“A lie my brother made up,” she says. “You would not believe the mileage I can get after they saw Astronema blow up and then come back - multiple times. You have much less to fear from me than you expect… now, what’s your name.”

“Brody,” the boy says, immediately. It’s not quite a lie, but it rings just off. Like the way Yellow says Amara.

“And where are you from?”

This time, Brody is silent.

  
  
  


They arrive at Astronema’s ship to a flurry of activity that Brody probably doesn’t pay enough attention to, and before he knows it, he ends up settled in a room of his own.

Even better, the Psychos don’t expect him to hold back at  _ all _ , even teach him a few things. After all, there’s really only so much he could do with hazy memories and the knowledge in his Datacomm.

He still doesn’t even consider trusting his new surroundings, not for months.

“Trust me,” Astronema… Karone? Says. “I understand where you’re coming from, but is there any way you can let me help you?”

By this point, it’s been several months.

“I’m looking for someone,” Brody admits, all the same. “But I doubt you could help me find them.”

Karone breaths.

“…Ah. I know that face,” she says. “You’re looking for someone who’s like family to you, missing them… and Galvanax took someone away, too.”

…what?

Karone just sighs.

“When you’re ready to talk, I’m here to listen, Brody,” she says. “But the When is up to  _ you _ .”

  
  
  


“It’s not that I don’t get where he’s coming from,” Karone says. “I mean, I was already an intergalactic name of fear at his age, and who knows how long he was Galvanax’s ‘prisoner’? But it isn’t making it any easier to help him!”

Andros is silent as she rants, which she appreciates. Especially because he hadn’t been very helpful with advice because his childhood had been  _ almost _ as fucked up as her own.

Maya and Leo had both been marginally more helpful.

But not much.

“You’re spending more time with this teen than your typical rescue,” he says, instead. “Is there a reason why?”

…Curse the Astro Rangers for teaching Andros how to read emotions. Still, he has a point, and Karone takes a moment to consider the question.

“…He reminds me of myself, some,” she says. “And of you, actually. He’s looking for someone, like you, but… he grew up in darkness, and he didn’t fold, he got stronger.”

“You said he’s trained himself,” Andros says. Karone nods.

“I think he had some training before he was captured,” she says. “Ninjas, to be exact… but yes.”

Which… still doesn’t say much. Brody only writes his name in Common, and that could be a name from at least 500 different other character sets and twice as many actual languages or planets of origin. And plenty of planets have branches of any one of numerous Ninja Academies.

Andros sighs.

“Good luck, Karone,” he says.

Karone laughs.

“Hopefully,” she says. “I won’t need it. He’s still just a kid, after all.”

  
  
  


“One of the things I need, I left it on Galvanax’s ship,” Brody admits, about 8 months after he arrives. “Actually, three. Or maybe nine?”

Two people, the Prism, and the six Power Stars. Assuming (hoping) that Mick and Redbot are still there.

Karone blinks, turning to him.

“Oh?” She asks. The unspoken “you’re actually giving me information?” is not unnoticed, but Brody decides to forge ahead, anyways.

“A fellow prisoner and a technical robot, they’re my friends,” he says. “And… the Prism. It belonged to my father before Galvanax killed him and took both it and me.”

“…And you need to protect it,” Karone says. “That’s why you watch Galaxy Warriors.”

Brody nods.

“I do,” he says. “My brother is protecting the… other half.”

  
  
  


…Ah. There it is. His brother. Brody explains a bit more about how, ten years ago, the Prism landed in his backyard and, a year after that, he watched his father transform into a Power Ranger and then sacrifice his life to protect the Power Stars, all of it tumbling out like a wave he’d been trying to hold back, to look strong but not too strong.

And Karone thinks about how strong a  _ Red _ vide Brody gives off and holds back her laugh solely due to the importance of the moment.

But also… he wants to protect something, something connected very clearly to the Power. Red, like his father, who sacrificed his life.

An odd sort of painfully familiar.

“And how do you plan on getting the Prism back?” She asks. Brody shrugs.

“The plan was to wait for an opportunity and then escape,” he says. “That’s obviously not an option anymore. I just… I don’t know what to do, now, and it’s been over half a year.”

Not knowing what to do. More painful familiarity. At least now he’s almost asking for help, even if it’s just advice.

“Then wait,” Karone says. “You’re a ninja, right? Waiting comes with the territory. I’m sure you’ll find a new plan, and I’m here to help.”

Carefully, she takes Brody’s hand.

“I know what you’re going through, Brody,” she says. “And you have me, and all three of my teams, at your side. The Psycho Rangers know you, and the Galaxy and Astros both know what it’s like to miss a sibling, or to protect a Ranger power source after a loss.”

Brody smiles.

“Thanks,” he says. “Actually, this gives me an idea…”

  
  
  


Brody Romero is sixteen years old, when he arrives on Earth with the Prism, his friends, and a clear goal in mind.

Here’s the official story: Psycho Pink wants to upstage her “brother”, and the Galaxy Rangers have never gotten a chance to truly settle their score with the evil parody Ranger for killing their own original Pink. The ensuing fight, which occurs partially  _ on _ the Warrior Dome, is wonderfully epic and brings in incredible viewership and profit. The Galaxy Rangers even retreat!

(In the chaos, who would notice the boy in grey and green-ish prison garb sneak through and onto the ship, small and alone? And in all the villainous victory, who would ever think that the Rangers weren’t somewhat beatable, leading to monsters of all qualities to take part in the season to come?)

A month later, frustrated by his still-continuous lack of success in unlocking the Power Stars, Galvanax sets a course for Earth and the Ninja Steel, on the suggestion of Madam Odious.

(No one notices the teen hidden in the Shadows, as if slightly trained by a woman who once spent five months training at the Dark Academy, because, secretly… he was.)

When they arrive on Earth, however, they find themselves down several personnel and a Nexus Prism, chasing them to Earth as, over the course of the day, Brody Romero and then Sarah Thompson and Preston Tien (and then, secretly, Levi Weston) and finally Calvin Maxwell and Hayley Foster take hold of their destiny.

None know how Brody escaped Astronema. His team doesn’t even know she was someone he  _ had  _ to escape.

(He calls her the night he arrives on Earth, and he thanks her again for her help. It’s the first time he’s rested in over a month.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading


End file.
